SKA St. Petersburg captain Ilya Kovalchuk could miss up to four weeks due to a shoulder injury sustained during a game against Vityaz Chekhov in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League on Sunday.
Ilya Kovalchuk injured by KHL teammate
Ilya Kovalchuk sustained a shoulder injury after he ran into a teammate on Sunday. He will reportedly miss three weeks.
Martin Rose
The incident occurred in the third period when Kovalchuk was attempting to gain entry to the Vityaz defensive zone. Having built up speed from the St. Petersburg end, Kovalchuk rushed from the right-side of the surface to the left but was stunted at the Chekov blue line when he ran into his teammate Alexei Ponikarovsky.
Several outlets are reporting that Kovalchuk could miss at least a month.
Kovalchuk made waves this offseason when he announced his retirement from the NHL so that he could return home to play in the KHL. Previously employed by the New Jersey Devils, Kovalchuk walked away from the remaining $77 million on his 15-year contract that had 12-years left. Kovalchuk expressed his pleasure in playing in Russia during the NHL lockout and stated on multiple occasions that he would have liked to have stayed their last season.
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